You Don't Have To
by il Vento
Summary: Elizabeth is set to marry Lucky in a day's time, but - the night before she's to marry him - the man who owns her heart gives her a proposition she just might not be able to refuse. Will she forsake her obligations to follow her heart or will she lose her heart in order to please those she loves? - One Shot -


She should be at her fiance's side, basking in the light of the love they share. Of the future they are to share together. She should be there, in the role that everyone has placed her in, in the role that has been carved out just for her. The role that everyone expects her to maintain.

Forget her dreams. Forget her wants or needs. Once she walks down the isle, becoming Mrs. Lucky Spencer, everything that makes her who she is will no longer matter. Like many things in their relationship, her fiance has decided the exact path that their future will take. He has decided how many kids they'll have. What their names will be. What colleges they'll go to.

He has planned out a path for them that she has no say in. She wishes she could leave him, but its impossible. He'd only track her down. With a family like his, there was no escaping him. He'd always find her. No matter where she goes, no matter how far she runs, he will always find her. Something he never fails to remind her of.

Just as she lifts the glass to touch her lips, a gush of wind blows swiftly through the bar, forcing her gaze to find its way to the cause of the wind. Standing just past the threshold, shutting the door behind him, is a man that she knows all too well. The man that she had been forced to leave behind.

In spite of her true feelings, in spite of her heart's true desires, she had been forced to end things with him before they ever truly began. For as long as she lives, however, she swears that her heart shall always belong to him. Come hell or high water, he will always have that part of her. Of that much she is certain.

Turning her gaze from him when her eyes meet a pair of conflicting blue orbs, the shot she had been debating over finally touches her lips, the burning liquid trailing down her throat as she swallows it in a gulp. If nothing else, the offending liquid could always be relied on to give her a sense of comfort, if not numbness.

"For someone getting married in the morning, you're a far cry from a blushing bride."

"Aren't I flush with anticipation?" she counters as he slides onto the stool beside her, making her beyond aware of his presence and the desire it ignites within her. "Do I not look like the part of a blushing bride?"

"The only blush on your cheeks is from the tequila you just drank." he counters, knowing her better than anyone, seeing the pain that lies behind her eyes. Every part of him wishing that she would only see it herself and stop denying what he knows in his heart. That she doesn't love her fiance. "Why lie to me when I already know the truth?"

"If you know the truth, why ask the question?" she counters right back, sliding a few bills onto the bar to pay for her beverage before rising to her feet, meeting his eyes with an intense gaze. "You know that the truth can never pass my lips yet you ask anyway. Why?"

"Maybe I need to hear you say it." he voices, doing his best to not touch her, to not give into his desires. "Maybe I want you to hear yourself say it and know that this doesn't have to be your life. That you can have more. That you deserve it."

"What I deserve is irrelevant." she replies, stepping away from him. "By this time tomorrow, I will be Mrs. Lucky Spencer. I will be his wife like I always wanted. And it'll be the future I'm meant to have."

"You're lying."

"Whether I am or I'm not is also irrelevant." she says simply, gathering her things. "Goodbye, Jason."

"Don't go." he blurts out as he takes hold of her arm, pulling her in close to face him. "Dance with me."

"You know I can't."

"But you want to." he counters. "I can see it in your eyes that you do."

The voice in her head begs her to walk away. Dancing with him would only bring more pain than she has ever endured. Like many things with them, one dance will never be enough. It'll only leave an ache in her heart that yearns for more. An ache that would never be filled. An ache that would never die.

Yet, in spite of know the horrible pain that she will endure once the dance is through, she allows him to sweep her up into his arms and lead her into a familiar dance. As her head goes to rest upon his chest, she remembers his heart beat as if they had never been apart, like it was the most natural thing for her to hear. Like it was meant for only her.

"Run away with me." he voices, pulling her out of her thoughts, out of the moment she had allowed to swallow her whole. "Away from Port Charles and everyone in it."

"You know I can't."

"Says who?" he counters. "Name one person in this town that has your best interest at heart? Give me one good reason for you to stay?"

"I belong here. I belong with Lucky."

"You belong wherever your heart wants to belong." he states firmly. "Not where others tell you that you belong."

"Where do you propose we should go?" she voices. "There's no place on this earth I can run where he won't find me."

"Look at who you're talking to." he pleads with her, pulling away from her to frame her face in his hands. "Do you really believe I'd ever let them find you? That I'd ever let anything bad happen to you?"

"Thank you for the dance." she changes the subject, stepping out of his embrace. "If nothing else, I am thankful to have had this moment with you."

"Elizabeth, please."

"I really am sorry." she whispers, swiping at the tears that have begun to fall. "You're the last person I ever want to hurt, but what you're asking cannot be done. I'm sorry."

"Tomorrow morning, just as the sun rises, I'll be in the park." he calls out to her as she's about to leave, causing her to stop before the door, her hand on the knob. "If there's any part of you that still believes in me...that still believes in us having a future...you'll be there to run away with me."

"And if I don't show?" she forces herself to voice, knowing that this was probably the last time she'll ever see him.

"If you don't show, I'll know you chose Lucky." he strides over to her, turning her to face him. "If I don't see you tomorrow and this is goodbye...I hope you know that all I want, all I've ever wanted, is your happiness."

Holding back the words that threaten to form, she takes a deep breath before continuing her venture out of the bar, knowing that she couldn't take another moment in his presence. It hurt too much to be so cut off from him. To not be able to voice how she feels. To not be able to voice her most deep desires. Her most heartfelt emotions.

Happiness? Her happiness resides within him. Within moments like that when they are together. For in those moments there's no need for masks or charades. No need to pretend to feel or think anything other than what she feels and thinks. In those brief moments, she's free to be the girl that she is.

Sleep will evade both of them for the rest of the night, too much on both of their minds to ever find a moment of peace. Both know the weight of what he has proposed, both knowing that this would be the make or break moment for them, both hoping that whatever's meant to be will be.

Morning has come and, like he had told her, Jason packed up his things and placed himself near the entrance of the park. With every passing minute, he wondered if she would show up, his hope vanishing the longer he found himself waiting for her. The sun would rise soon and then he would have his answer.

Minutes continue to tick on by with no sign of her anywhere within the vicinity of the park. Glancing towards the skies, he lets out a deep breath as the sun's rays begin to light up the sky. Sunrise has begun and still she was nowhere to be found.

With a heavy heart, he slides his key into the ignition, knowing that he had given her the choice and she has made it. Though every part of him had wished the choice would be him, he knew that there was an equal chance her obligation to those she loves will outweigh it and she'd choose to stay.

"Leaving without me?" her voice calls from behind him, causing him to turn in shock, not having heard her approach. "I know I'm a little late..."

"It doesn't matter." he says quickly, shutting off his bike before making his way over to her. "Better late than never."

"I believe in you. I always have and I always will." she voices, needing him to know. "I'm still afraid of the day that he finds me again, but I'm done letting that fear rule my life."

"One day I hope to rid you of that fear." Jason voices, reaching up to caress her cheek. "But, for now, I'll settle for ridding you of this town and everyone in it."

"Sounds like a plan."

Accepting the helmet from him, she straps it on with a familiar ease, having missed the feeling for so long. Straddling the bike behind him, she slides her hands into their familiar position at his abdomen, laying her body against his back for the long ride. No matter where they're going, no matter what lies ahead, her future begins to look a lot brighter the further away they get from the town. Every part of her hoping that he's right. That he will rid her of that fear and bring back the happiness to her life. A kind of happiness she yearns for with every beat of her heart.

**The End**


End file.
